Jimmy Johnson has the stamina for 600 miles

Don Coble

Sunday

May 27, 2007 at 6:41 AM

CONCORD, N.C. - Jimmie Johnson will start 21st for the Coca-Cola 600 today at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. Nobody expects him to be that far behind at the finish.

Johnson's Chevrolet wasn't fast in qualifying and it was even slower in Saturday's practice sessions. But when it comes to running 600 miles, few can match his record of three wins and a runner-up finish in the last four years.

The race starts at 5:30 tonight (Fox) and ends four hours later under the lights. Johnson has been content with sacrificing speed for the first 300 miles to be fast for the stretch drive. That's why nobody is concerned that Johnson's car hasn't shown a lot of speed - yet.

"The Hendrick organization is definitely strong," Ryan Newman said of Johnson's race team. "Their performance here at this racetrack is no different. Between the 48 (Johnson) and even the 24 (Jeff Gordon), they're going to definitely be tough."

Newman's Dodge will start on the pole. He was clocked at 185.312 mph in time trials last Thursday.

Johnson's speed was 182.525.

The only glitch in Johnson's record lately at the 1.5-mile racetrack came last year when he finished second to Kasey Kahne.

"We've been unfortunately running second for the last three attempts at Lowe's Motor Speedway," Johnson said. "I feel good. We've been there knocking on the door for a win. If we're putting ourselves in position consistently like this, we'll get back to Victory Lane there."

Johnson also finished second in last October's race at Lowe's, and he was second in last week's all-star race.

"Of course we want to win," Johnson said. "But to finish second against the competitors, the competition that we have, it's good to finish second, there's no doubt about it. A lot of hard work that goes into it. Running second is still a big thing, big honor. We want to win. We feel like this is one of our best tracks to win at. The statistics show that. We're eager to leave here with a victory. If we don't and we end second, we still did a good job."

Elliott Sadler, whose Dodge is third on the starting grid, said he will watch for Johnson making a charge in his rearview mirror. He expects Johnson to eventually work his way to the front. Johnson may not get to the front early in the race, but he's sure he eventually will take his turn as the leader.

"I think with 600 miles he's got a lot of time to come from what ever position he's at," Sadler said. "They're still going to be the team to beat. They've got this place figured out. They're always real good on adjustments. It seems like every time they pit they make the car better as it gets into the nighttime. I don't think you can define them as not being the guardian of the gate by just one lap of qualifying. They're still the team to beat and that's who we're going to be shooting for."

Johnson is second in the Nextel Cup Series standings, but he has a series-best four victories in the first 11 races.

"We're prepared," Johnson said. "We're putting good race cars on the track. We have our team behind us. Our focus is still the same. The direction that we're working in as a company is still the same. I think we've been in position and have capitalized on some victories, have shown some sort of dominance here.

"We've been able to close the deal here at the start of the season. I'm not sure it's going to continue that way. There's a lot of teams real close with times better than us on the track. We'll ride this wave as long as it's here."

Coca-Cola 600 Lineup

After Thursday's qualifying; race Sunday

At Lowe's Motor Speedway

Concord, N.C.

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 185.312 mph.

2. (2) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 185.065.

3. (19) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 185.001.

4. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 184.634.

5. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 184.231.

6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Chevrolet, 184.225.

7. (88) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 183.955.

8. (22) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 183.861.

9. (43) Bobby Labonte, Dodge, 183.536.

10. (40) David Stremme, Dodge, 183.530.

11. (01) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 183.443.

12. (18) J.J. Yeley, Chevrolet, 183.312.

13. (6) David Ragan, Ford, 183.243.

14. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 183.094.

15. (10) Scott Riggs, Dodge, 183.014.

16. (25) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 182.890.

17. (5) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 182.698.

18. (9) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 182.698.

19. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 182.587.

20. (42) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dodge, 182.562.

21. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 182.525.

22. (21) Bill Elliott, Ford, 182.426.

23. (44) Dale Jarrett, Toyota, 182.389.

24. (36) Jeremy Mayfield, Toyota, 182.303.

25. (31) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 182.285.

26. (83) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 182.272.

27. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 182.266.

28. (26) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 182.248.

29. (84) AJ Allmendinger, Toyota, 182.248.

30. (14) Sterling Marlin, Chevrolet, 182.242.

31. (1) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 182.205.

32. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 181.977.

33. (13) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 181.922.

34. (41) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 181.812.

35. (7) Robby Gordon, Ford, 181.324.

36. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 181.038.

37. (96) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 180.814.

38. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 180.620.

39. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford, owner points.

40. (70) Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, owner points.

41. (07) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, owner points.

42. (66) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, owner points.

43. (78) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 182.229.

Failed to qualify

44. (15) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 182.149.

45. (55) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 181.238.

46. (4) Ward Burton, Chevrolet, 181.080.

47. (37) Kevin Lepage, Dodge, 180.505.

48. (49) Mike Bliss, Dodge, 177.107.

49. (00) David Reutimann, Toyota, 0.000.

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